Long-Distance Aim by Nynex

Published: August 26, 1994

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25—
The Nynex Corporation asked the Justice Department today for permission to offer long-distance telephone service in New York.

Nynex, which provides local telephone service in New York and New England, and the other regional Bell companies are currently barred from offering long-distance service under the antitrust consent decree that broke up the old Bell System.

But Nynex argued today that regulatory changes in New York had forced the company to open its network to new competitors, and that competitors already existed.

"No state in this country is experiencing as much telecommunications competition as New York," said John M. Clarke, the company's vice president for law.

The Ameritech Corporation, the regional Bell company based in Chicago, has filed a similar request for Illinois.

New York utility regulators have been the most aggressive in the country at requiring the local telephone company to accept competition. Companies can now be licensed to provide all forms of local service.

More importantly, they can resell telephone lines and switches from Nynex to offer complete local service without having built a citywide network that reaches into every building.

Nynex said 21 companies had received approval from the New York Public Service Commission to provide local communications. But while competitors like Metropolitan Fiber Systems Inc. and Teleport Communications Group have been moving aggressively, they still cater primarily to a handful of big corporate customers.